The UK Government’s Warm Homes Plan is striving to increase the uptake of cleaner home heating, reduce fuel poverty, provide warmer homes and improve the energy efficiency of thousands of homes. Within the Warm Homes Plan, two significant funding schemes are included – the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3. In this guide, we will focus on the Warm Homes: Local Grant, what it means for local authorities and how Grant UK can support with the supply of low carbon heat pumps.
The Warm Homes Plan comprises of a number of initiatives and funding schemes which are designed to support the installation of cleaner, more energy-efficient heating systems into UK homes. Some schemes make funding for heat pump installations directly available for homeowners, such as the £7,500 grants available in England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), while others support lower income households by distributing funding to local authorities and social housing organisations.
In this blog, we are going to focus on:
- What is the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
- Who is eligible for Warm Homes: Local Grant funding?
- What are the eligibility requirements for the scheme?
- What measures are included in the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
- A brief explanation of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3
What is the Warm Homes: Local Grant?
The Warm Homes: Local Grant is designed to deliver energy efficiency upgrades into low income households to help lower their energy bills, make their properties more energy efficient and to lift these homes out of fuel poverty. Between 2025 and 2028, a total of £500m has been allocated to Warm Homes: Local Grant with £88m available in 2025 to 2026. This funding has been allocated to local authorities with the aim of upgrading up to 9,000 homes through the installation of energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating systems.
What local authorities have funding?
Local authorities were invited to apply for Warm Homes: Local Grant funding at the end of 2024. In Spring 2025, the allocation of funding was confirmed – you can view the complete list of local authorities who have been allocated Warm Homes: Local Grant funding here.
Local authorities who have been allocated funding will be providing grants to low incomes households with poor energy efficient homes, funding the installation of upgrades to their home which will help achieve energy bill savings as well as carbon savings.
What households are eligible for support?
Local authorities can install upgrades through the Warm Homes: Local Grant to households which meet the scheme criteria. To be eligible, households must:
- Be in England only
- Be ‘Income Eligible’ via one of three pathways:
- - Pathway 1 – Live in a valid postcode that falls within eligible IMD:ID Postcodes (Indices of Multiple Deprivation)
- Pathway 2 – Be in receipt of a specified means-tested benefit or meet current ECO4 Flex criteria
- Pathway 3 - Have an income of £36,000 or less (or the equivalent ‘After Housing Costs’ threshold for their household composition) - Live in a property which is privately owned, either owner occupied or privately rented.
The good news is that upgrades are open to households using all fuel types, from mains gas central heating systems through to off-gas households using electricity, oil, coal or liquid petroleum gas.
Are there any other eligibility requirements?
In addition to the household fulfilling the criteria, other requirements must also to be met for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, including:
- Property eligibility criteria must be fulfilled – for example, the property must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of between D and G which is an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) SAP score of 68 or below
- The installer must be TrustMark registered or a member of an equivalent competent persons scheme
- If installing a low carbon heating measure, such as an air source heat pump, the product must have MCS certification (all of Grant’s air source heat pumps are MCS certified)
- All upgrades must adhere to the latest PAS 2035 guidance (currently PAS 2035:2023).
Is social housing eligible for Warm Homes: Local Grant?
No, social housing is not eligible for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, except for in-fill purposes (this is capped at 10% of a project’s total homes treated, with a 50% cost contribution required from social housing landlords – please refer to the Policy Guidance document for further information). However, there is a separate scheme which is dedicated to supporting the social housing sector – the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund which you can read more about towards the end of this blog.
What measures are included?
Local authorities can install a number of energy performance measures and/or low carbon heating to eligible homes within their area from insulation and solar panels through to air source heat pumps. What is important is that only appropriate measures are installed so local authorities should ensure that upgrades specified for a household are tailored and suitable for the property.
Eligible energy efficiency measures
The following energy efficiency measures are eligible through Warm Homes: Local Grant:
- Fabric measures such as insulation (cavity wall, flat roof, internal wall, loft, room-in-room, solid/external wall, underfloor, hot water cylinder), draughtproofing, double/triple glazing, energy efficient doors, hot water cylinder/tank
- Smart measures such as solar PV, solar thermal, smart controls, battery storage, heating controls, hot water cylinder thermostat, low energy lighting
Please note, costs are capped at £15,000 per home for energy performance upgrades.
Low carbon heating measures
The following low carbon heating measures are eligible through Warm Homes: Local Grant:
- Clean heat measures such as air source heat pumps, high heat retention storage heaters, ground source heat pumps, hybrid heat pumps (separate criteria applies), biomass boilers
Please note, costs are capped at £15,000 per home for low carbon heating.
Grant air source heat pumps
As outlined above, one of the energy efficiency measures included in the Warm Homes: Local Grant are air source heat pumps. Grant UK have been supplying air-to-water heat pumps for over fifteen years and our range of heat pumps today provide a sustainable heating solution that local authorities can specify through this government funding scheme.
Some of the features and benefits of a Grant heat pump include:
- Heating outputs from 4kW up to 17kW available – The Grant Aerona heat pumps suit a wide variety of property types, from smaller homes through to those with larger heating demands
- MCS certified – All of Grant’s air source heat pumps are MCS approved
- Latest generation heat pump technology – Alongside the award-winning Aerona³ heat pump, Grant UK supply an innovative range of R290 heat pumps with their Aerona 290 models combining stylish aesthetics with high performance and exceptional efficiencies
- More environmentally friendly heat pump refrigerant – the Aerona 290 heat pumps use the more eco-friendly R290 refrigerant which has an incredibly low Global Warming Potential of just 3
- Incredibly energy efficient heat pumps – Grant heat pumps have exceptional SCOPs, are A+++ ErP rated (35ºC water flow temperature) and when required to operate at higher temperatures, they perform well which can benefit properties where fabric upgrades are not possible
- Peace of mind through 7 year guarantee – When installed by a G1 Installer, Grant heat pumps are available with a 7 year guarantee to provide households with complete peace of mind with their home heating (terms and conditions apply)
- Remote monitoring capability – The Aerona Smart Heat Pump System Controller, which is compatible with both the Aerona³ and Aerona 290 ranges, facilitates remote access and monitoring of the heat pump system which can allow installers and Grant UK’s Technical Team insight into the system’s operation without being onsite, supporting diagnostics, maintenance and overall system efficiency. Furthermore, the Aerona Smart Controller is easy to install, incredibly user-friendly for the end-user to navigate and is supported by an app for remote monitoring. Visit our YouTube Channel to watch our Smart Controller video playlist.
What is the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund
The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 (WH:SHF) is another scheme that is supporting the Government’s Warm Homes Plan. Through Wave 3, £1.29 billion of grant funding has been allocated between 2025 and 2028 with a target of upgrading social housing properties with energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating measures to homes in England. Through WH:SHF, funding is provided in England to:
- Local authorities
- Combined authorities
- Registered providers of social housing
- Registered charities who own social housing in England.
Similar to the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the installation of low carbon air source heat pumps is included within WH:SHF as well. The key aims of the WH:SHF are:
- To reduce the number of households in fuel poverty by improving the energy efficiency of social homes
- To deliver cost effective carbon savings by reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from social housing
- To improve the comfort, health and wellbeing of social housing residents by providing warmer homes
- To support the green economy with thousands of jobs
- To develop the retrofit sector with growth in supply chain capabilities.
Please click here to learn more about WH:SHF.
How Grant UK can support local authorities and social housing organisations with heat pump installations
Grant UK have been working with local authorities and social housing organisations for many years, as you can see by viewing the Projects showcase in our Specification Hub. We have developed our in-house renewables expertise allowing us to support housing projects and schemes, such as the delivery of Warm Homes: Local Grants and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, with comprehensive support and resources as follows:
- Supply of sustainable heating systems, from air source heat pumps and hybrids through to hot water cylinders, radiators and underfloor heating systems
- Deliver heat pump CPD to councils, local authorities, social housing providers as well as to their contractors
- Provide free heat pump training to Direct Labour Organisations (DLOs)
- Assist with specification and designs with our in-house Design and Specification Team providing quotations tailored for different property types
- Support with heat pump set-up onsite with our Technical Sales Support Engineers as well extensive post-installation support with our Field Engineer Team
- Host tenant engagement days with our dedicated Specification Sales Team and heat pump display vans, providing onsite training and education to staff and tenants
- As a carbon neutral company, Grant UK understands the net zero objectives of local authorities and social housing organisations so since the launch of Grant Project Zero, Grant UK’s own carbon reduction programme, the Company has taken significant steps to reduce the carbon emissions of their business operations.
Get in touch
If you are interested in learning more about Grant UK’s range of sustainable heating products, the different ways we can support local authorities to deliver energy efficiency upgrades to their communities or if you would like to arrange a visit from one of our product demonstration vans, please contact a member of the Grant UK Sales Team.